Marvel: The Casket
by Cortana Hansen
Summary: AU of the Thor movie. Both Thor and Loki are banished to Earth, and it's all Loki's fault. Now he has to set right the wrongs he has made before it's too late.- Used Thor script from Internet Movie Script Database for reference.
1. Prologue

**So this is the prologue for** ** _Marvel: The Casket._** **Yes, it's another AU about for** ** _Marvel: Again_** **, that story will be under hiatus until further notice.** ** _Marvel: Behind Closed Doors_** **will be updated soon, but probably not for a few days. Also, reviews are seriously appreciated, so long as they offer constructive criticism and/or encouragement, NOT flames. All flames will be deleted on sight PERIOD.**

 **So, here we go.**

. . .

 **Prologue**

 _"When I'm a king... I'll hunt the monsters down, and slay them all!"_

"And would that include me?" Loki wanted to ask when he heard those words come out of his brother's mouth. But he kept his mouth shut. The truth must be kept secret.

He remembered the horrified and concerned look on his mother's face when Loki came racing in, crying. He had been practicing a shape-shifting spell and it had failed. Instead of turning him into a frog like he wanted to (so he could hop into Sif's bedchambers and scare the living daylights out of her), he had unknowingly stripped himself of the cloaking spell that hid his Jotun form.

Frigga restored the disguise, but warned him not to tell anyone. Not even Thor. For everyone's safety, it had to remain secret.

 _You would "slay" me, wouldn't you? You would cut me down mercilessly if you knew what-no,_ who _I am._

. . .

 _Many years later..._

"Where is he?" Odin demanded. Of course, Thor was late for his coronation. _Of all times..._

"He said he'd be along," Loki replied, feeling excitement as well as dread. _Soon they will see he is not ready._

Sif realised what was going on and shook her head, amused.

"What?" Volstagg was completely clueless.

"He wants to make an entrance," Sif told him.

"Well, if he doesn't show up soon, he shouldn't bother. Odin looks like he's ready to feed him to his ravens," Fandral joked, smirking in amusement. Odin did look pretty pissed at the moment.

"I wouldn't worry. Father will forgive him. He always does," Loki said.

Thor's famous hammer Mjolnir roared into the room at incalculable speeds. Then the man himself proudly strutted in and easily caught his hammer. He did some silly spinning of the hammer, getting the crowd wild.

"Oh, please," Sit muttered with amusement.

Loki pressed his lips into a thin line as he considered his next move. He focused his powers on the portal outside the Vault. _Just a little more..._

Thor, finishing his display of prowess, marched up to the front of the room and knelt down. Odin struck Gungnir upon the floor, bringing the audience to attention. "Gungnir. Its aim is true, its power strong. With it I have defended Asgard and the lives of the innocent across the Nine Realms since the time of the Great Beginning. And though the day has come for a new King to wield his own weapon - that duty remains the same.

"Thor Odinson, my heir, my long entrusted with this mighty hammer, Mjolnir. Forged in the heart of a dying star, from the sacred metal of Uru. Only one may lift it. Only one is worthy. Who wields this hammer commands the lightning and the storm. Its power has no equal - as a weapon, to destroy, or as a tool, to build. It is a fit companion for a King.

"Today I entrust you with the greatest honor in all the Nine Realms. The sacred throne of Asgard. I have sacrificed much to achieve peace. So, too, must a new generation sacrifice to maintain that peace. Responsibility, duty, honor. These are not merely virtues to which we must aspire. They are essential to every soldier and to every King. Thor Odinson, do you swear to guard the Nine Realms?"

"I swear," Thor replied, his excitement growing. He had waited for this day for a long time.

"Do you swear to preserve the peace?"

"I swear."

"Do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambition and pledge yourself only to the good of all the Realms?"

There was a slight hesitation from Thor. He replied a little loudly, "I swear!"

"Then on this day, I, Odin Allfather, proclaim you-" Odin stopped speaking, staring at the ice that was spreading through the room. "Frost giants..."

Loki tried not to smirk at his dirty work. _Phase one of my plan is complete..._

. . .

Thor raced to the Vault, heart racing. Of all the days...

When he entered the sacred room, he stopped short. The guards bodies lay strewn on the floor, along with that of the Jotuns. _And the Casket was gone._

The Destroyer stood in the center of the room, staring at the carnage.

Sif, the Warriors Three, and Loki hurried in behind Thor and stopped short. Loki stepped up next to his raging brother hesitantly. Then he noticed the Casket's absence. Loki's heart sunk. The Frost Giants were just supposed to ruin his brother's big day, not actually get their hands on the Casket. _What have I done?_

Odin stepped in behind the other Asgardians as the Destroyer stomped back to its post.

"The Jotuns must pay for what they've done!" Thor roared. "We must march into Jotunheim! Take back the Casket, teach them a lesson!"

"I have a truce with Laufey, the Jotun King," Odin told him firmly. "This was an act of but a few. We will retrieve the Casket, but not through war."

"He just broke your truce! He just wanted us to think that this was an act of just a few insignificant Frost Giants!"

Odin turned to Sif and the Warriors Three. "Leave us."

With some hesitation, Thor's comrades left.

Odin eyed Thor, as Loki stared at the pedestal where the Casket had once been. _What have I done? This wasn't supposed to happen... should I tell them- no, no, no... I could be punished for treason. But I must do something..._

"And what action would you take?" Odin asked Thor.

"March into Jotunheim as you once did, teach them a lesson, break their spirits so they'll never dare try to cross our borders again!"

"You're thinking only as a warrior!"

"As King of Asgard, I would-"

"You are not King!" Odin roared. He paused, trying to contain his anger. "Not yet."

Thor stormed out of the room in a fit of rage and soon found himself in the banguet hall. Anger pulsing through him, Thor violently tipped over one of the massive tables. Food spilled all over the floor, thoroughly soiling it.

Sif, Fandral, and Hogun followed Volstagg as he entered in search of his dinner. He was sorely disappointed to find his dinner on the floor.

"Redecorating, are we?" Sif asked.

Volstagg stared the overturned table, horrified. "What's this - ?!"

"I told you they'd cancel it," Hogun said with some amusement.

"We thought that was just you being your normal cheery self." Fandral seemed to find the whole food debacle funny, while poor Volstagg was clearly feeling the opposite.

"All this food - so innocent, cast to the ground," Volstagg spoke in sadness. "It breaks the heart!"

Thor stomped away from them to the far end of the room. Loki walked in, feeling rather ill. _What am I going to do now?_

"It's unwise to be in my company right now, my friends," Thor said, his back to them.

"If it's any consolation, I think you're right. About the Frost Giants, about Laufey, everything," Loki told his brother, approaching him slowly. "With the Casket in their hands, they could destroy Asgard. Bring the Nine Realms into another war."

"Yes exactly!" Thor exclaimed, turning to his brother.

Loki swallowed hard, pulling himself together to make his proposal. "We must go to Jotunheim. Take the Casket back. If we are left at war with Jotunheim, then so be it, but I'd say it is a lot less costly than what might happen if we just sit here and twiddle our thumbs."

Thor thought this over a moment. "You know this means we would be defying father, correct?"

"I am aware of that."

"And that we will most likely die in trying to get the Casket back?"

"I know that too."

"And that our deaths will most likely follow long and very _painful_ torture?"

"Tell me something that I don't already know, brother."

Thor smiled. "Then we shall do it."

"Excuse me?!" Sif glared at Loki, then at Thor, and back at Loki again. "Thor, of all the laws of Asgard, this is one you must not break."

"We're going to Jotunheim," Thor said simply.

"This isn't like a journey to Earth, where you summon a little lightning and thunder and the mortals worship you as a god," Fandral told them. "This is _Jotunheim_. _"_

"We're going to Jotunheim," Thor repeated.

"And if the Frost Giants don't kill you, your Father will!" Volstagg was itching to get back into the fighting game, but this...

"My father fought his way into Jotunheim, defeated their armies, and took their Casket!" Thor roared. "We would be taking back what is ours!"

"It is forbidden!" Sif knew that when Thor set his mind to something, he'd do it. But it didn't hurt to try and talk him out of it. Well, unless one were to end up on the _wrong_ side of his beloved Mjolnir.

"My friends, have you forgotten all that we've done together?" He turned to Fandral. "Who brought you into the sweet embrace of the most exotic maidens in all of Yggdrasil?"

"You did," Fandral replied, remembering that day fondly... and then fantasizing about the rather rowdy night that followed.

"Who led you into the most glorious of battles," Thor asked Hogun and Volstagg respectively, "and to delicacies so succulent, you thought you'd died and gone to Valhalla?"

"You did," the two warriors said simutaneously.

"And who proved wrong all who scoffed at the idea that a young maiden could be one of the fiercest warriors this Realm has ever known?" Thor asked Sif.

"I did," Sif replied as a matter of factly.

"True, but I supported you. My friends, trust me now. We must do this. Come on. You're not going to let my brother and me take all the glory, are you?"

"Then I will fight beside you, my friends!" Volstagg declared proudly.

"And I," Fandral said.

"And I," said Hogun. "The Warriors Three fight together."

"I fear we'll live to regret this," Sif muttered, sighing resignedly. Another day, another battle.


	2. Chapter One: Falling Stars, Part I

**Chapter one is up! :) Hopefully you all like it. Next one is gonna be longer, I promise.**

. . .

 **Chapter One: Falling Stars, Part I**

An ordinary looking SUV sat parked in the desert. Inside that SUV, however, was equipment so advanced that even Tony Stark himself would be baffled. Slightly. Probably.

Suddenly, the roof panels of the SUV slid open. A young woman, in her twenties, peaked her head through the opening. She positioned a makeshift magnet monitor to calibrate with the constellations above. "Hurry!"

The woman winced as she heard a loud bang from inside and some muffled cursing. She helped up an elderly man, who was rubbing his head in pain. "Oh- watch your head!" A little late for that.

"Thanks," he said. "So what's this 'anomaly' of yours supposed to look like?"

"It's a little different each time, Eric. Once it looked like, I don't know, melted stars, pooling in a corner of the sky. But last week it was a rolling rainbow ribbon-"

"'Racing 'round Orion?' I've always said you should have been a poet."

"Hey, Darcy. Pass up the bubbly and my gloves, will you?" the woman asked, ignoring her friend's little jest.

There was some shuffling around in the van below. Then Darcy called, "Hey, Doctor Oddity, have you seen the bubbly and Jane's gloves?"

"Jane's gloves are on the desk there," a man's voice replied from below. "And no, I have not seen the champagne. Have you tried looking under the driver's seat?"

In minute, Darcy handed Jane a bottle of champagne and a pair of gloves through the window. Jane passed the bottle to Eric and then she pulled on the old gloves - too large and masculine for her small hands.

Eric beside her started to unwrap the foil, but she stopped his hands before he could finish. "Not until you see it!"

"I recognize those," Eric said, looking at her gloves, feeling pleased and saddened at the same time. "Think how proud he'd be to see you now."

Jane looked away, a pain in her chest. She didn't want to think about it right now. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"The benefit of the doubt."

The two stared out at the sky, waiting. But there was nothing. Jane felt a sinking feeling in her chest. What if it didn't happen again? What if... "It's never taken this long before."

"Can I turn on the radio?" Darcy called.

"No," her companion below immediately and firmly replied. Worried Jane headed back down into the vehicle. Her friends watch her with sympathy as she snatched up her notebook.

"The anomalies are always precipitated by geomagnetic storms," Jane said. "The last seventeen occurrences have been predictable to the minute... I just don't understand..."

Something caught Darcy's eye out the driver's side mirror. She adjusted it. In the distance, a swirl of glowing clouds of a variety of colours were splotched and flickering upon the night sky. "Jane?"

Jane shushed her, and flipped through her notes in her journal. She did not notice the bottle of champagne begin to shake, gently at first, and then it slowly became more violent. "There's got to be some new variable... or an equipment malfunction..."

The lights and equipment in the SUV began to flicker on and off around them. The computer monitors squealed with static.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with your equipment..." Darcy trailed off as Jane and the others finally noticed the bottle shaking.

Champagne came billowing out of the bottle like a volcano, and spewed all over, covering everything and everyone in the SUV.

"****!"

Jane glared at the man who cursed, who had been looking at a computer before the champagne explosion. "Stephen, really?"

Stephen looked back at her with an expression that said not so subtly "not now."

"Jane?" Darcy pestered, staring out the window again.

"What?!"

"I think you wanna see this."

Darcy pointed out the window and everyone else crammed in the front of the vehicle to see. The four stared at the sight, dumbfounded.

"Holy. Shatner," Jane breathed. What a sight.

"That's your 'subtle' aurora?!" Eric looked startled.

"No- yes! Let's go!"

The roof panel was still open, and the SUV raced towards the strange event. Jane, amazed by the sight, stood with half her body out the roof, taking video footage. Jane grinned, adrenaline running through her veins. "Isn't this great?!" She climbed back into the vehicle. "You're seeing it too, right? I'm not crazy?"

"That's debateable," Eric commented, shoving her in a seat. "Put your seat belt on!"

The SUV hit a bump as a beam of light struck the ground in front of them. Eric looked up through the still-open sunroof at the beam with bewilderment. Jane leaned out a window, recording everything. "You've gotta get us closer so I can take a magnetic reading."

Darcy laughed. "Yeah, right! Good one!" A look from Jane made her realise- Jane was not joking. "Oh God, you're serious..."

"You want those college credits or not?"

A blast of sand burst from the area where the beam of light was, and hit the SUV. The vehicle shook violently from the impact. Darcy panicked and turned the wheel away from the raging phenomenon.

"That's it! I'm not dying for six credits!"

"What are you doing?!" Jane shrieked.

"Saving our lives!"

Jane grabbed the wheel, and jerked it hard the other way in a desperate attempt to take control of the vehicle. Directly in their path, stumbling through the wind, were a pair of shadows. Darcy slammed on the brakes and Jane turned the wheel hard to avoid them. The SUV swerved - but too late.

The side of the SUV slammed into one of the pair, sending him flying. The other man scrambled to his fallen companion's side.

The SUV skidded to a stop.

Everyone inside traded horrified expressions, panting. They all leapt out of the car and raced to the pair of men.

"I think that was legally your fault," Darcy said.

The man kneeling by his companion glared up at them. The foursome could see his features now- raven hair, sea green eyes. The man stood, looking outraged. "What did you do?!"

"It wasn't our fault!" Jane swore, kneeling down beside the fallen man. She looked at Darcy. "Get the first aid kit."

Darcy headed back inside the SUV as Jane examined the unconscious man."Do me a favor and don't be dead. _Please."_

Suddenly, he groaned and turned over onto his back. He opened his eyes and looked at Jane, feeling confused.

"Wow. Does he need CPR?" Darcy asked. "Because I totally know CPR."

Jane rolled her eyes. "His eyes-"

"-are beautiful," Darcy said. She set the first aid kit beside Jane.

"-are dialating. That's a good sign."

The fallen man turned his head and looked at the raven-haired fellow. "Loki," the man croaked. Rage filled him. The man stood up and stomped towards Loki. "What happened, where are we?"

"Father sent us to Midgard," Loki said in a low voice. He looked away from Thor. "This is my fault."

"You're damn right it is!" Thor roared. He turned and glared at Jane and her friends. "Who are they?!"

Jane stood up. "I'm Jane. Jane Foster." She gestured to each of her friends as she introduced them. "These are my friends- Eric, Darcy, and Stephen."

Thor contemplated this for a moment. He looked up at the night sky. "I do not wish to remain in this realm any longer. Heimdall, open the Bifrost!"

"It's no use, Thor," Loki told him firmly, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. "He will not open it. Father cast us out!"

Thor tore himself away from Loki and started pacing. "This cannot be happening..."

"Uh... dude, you're starting to freak me out..." Darcy pulled out a small object. It was a taser.

Thor saw immediately. "You dare threaten me, Thor, with such a puny-!" A pair of electrically charged tendrils shot out from the device and hit Thor square in the chest. He spazzed out a bit, then collapsed unconscious.

Loki looked down at his again knocked-out brother, then at Darcy. "May I be exempt from being the next victim of that... whatever that is?"

. . .

 _Earlier..._

The attempt to retrieve the Casket had gone very, _very_ wrong. They had barely made it out with their lives. If it hadn't been for Odin's intervention, they'd all be dead.

 _It's all my fault,_ Loki thought as Odin paced around the Bifrost angrily.

"Why did you bring us back?!" Thor demanded in anger. Loki stood next to him, his face very pale.

"Do you realize what you've done?" Odin growled. "What you've started?"

"I was protecting my home."

"You cannot protect your friends. How can you hope to protect a kingdom?" Odin turned to Sif and two of the Warriors Three, who were supporting a wounded Fandral. "Get him to the healing room!" Sif, Volstagg, and Hogun hurried to help Fandral out of the Bifrost.

"There won't be a kingdom to protect if you're afraid to act!" Thor roared.

Odin turned to look back at him. He was trying to remain calm, but anyone with eyes could see the rage and hurt swirling in his eyes.

"Whatever the cost, the world must know that the new King of Asgard will not be held in contempt," Thor continued.

"That's pride and vanity that talks!" Odin was losing it. "Not leadership! Have you forgotten everything I've taught you? What of a warrior's patience, cunning?"

"Father-" Loki attempted to intervene, but Odin cut him off.

"Silence!" Odin snapped.

Loki persisted. _This is my doing. I must take responsibility._ "This... this is my fault, Father. It's my fault. Not Thor's."

Odin could only stare at him. "I would expect behaviour like this from _Thor,_ but from _you..._ Loki..."

"Do not punish him for something that was my doing," Loki said, his voice low. He felt disoriented at the moment, outside of himself. _By the Norns, what am I doing...?_ "I was the instigator, not Thor."

Odin shook his head. "You are both at fault, then. You, for putting such an idea in your brother's head." He turned to Thor. "And you, for carrying it out. Thor Odinson... Loki... you have _both_ disobeyed the express command of your King. Through your arrogance and stupidity, you have opened these peaceful Realms and innocent lives to the horrors of war."

"If the Frost Giants are to keep the Casket, the Nine Realms will plunge into war anyway!" Thor looked at his brother for support.

Loki nodded, and said, "A war with Jotunheim is a lot less costly than a war between _all_ the Nine Realms. We were doing what was in the best interest of Asgard."

"You may have tried to do what you _thought_ was right," Odin growled, "but where did it get you two? Nowhere! Now Asgard is at war, when there could have been a peaceful resolution to this! _This was not in Asgard's best interest!"_

The Allfather slammed his sceptre into Observatory's control panel. The turret rotated with increasing speed, the Bifrost's power building. It fired, creating a portal. Odin turned in rage towards his sons.

"You are unworthy of this Realm..."

Odin ripped two discs off Thor's chest, then tore the metal band off Loki's chest.

"...unworthy of your titles..."

He tore off Thor's cloak, then Loki's.

"...unworthy of the loved ones you've betrayed. I hereby take from you your powers."

Odin extended his hand towards his sons. Mjolnir soared from Thor's hand into Odin's.

 _This can't be happening..._ Loki suddenly felt an irrational rage towards his brother. _This is your fault, Thor. If it were not for your vanity, your_ stupidity, _then I would not have let the Jotuns into the Vault. They would not have taken the Casket and we wouldn't be in this mess!_

"In the name of my father..." Odin continued. Lighting rippled from his hand and struck Thor and Loki. Their armour began to fall away. "...and of his father before..."

"I cast you out!" Odin thrusted Mjolnir before him and his sons are thrown into the Bifrost's portal. Odin held Mjolnir in his hand and whispered to it, "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."

And then Mjolnir was hurled into the Bifrost.

. . .

 **Okay, so... Doctor Strange in this story too (in case you haven't noticed already.) No spoilers, but I can say I have a lot planned for him.**

 **Anyway, reviews are appreciated. :) See ya next time!**


	3. Chapter Two: Falling Stars, Part II

**Chapter two is up! :) And finally, _one_ scene that I could write without using the script! Also, sorry this isn't longer like I promised, but wanted to get it published ASAP.**

. . .

 **Chapter Two: Falling Stars, Part II**

"May I be exempt from being the next victim of that... whatever that is?" Loki had asked, kind of in shock at the moment. He regained himself in a moment and knelt back down next to his brother and shook him. "Thor. Wake up! Wake up! This is not the time for games..."

"Let's get him to the hospital," Jane said to Loki. "They'll take care of him."

"The what?!' Loki snarled. "You're not taking him anywhere, mortal! Lay a hand on my brother and I'll break your-!"

"Now that's enough!" Stephen intervened. Loki saw a rage in the man's eyes. He knew the look all too well. He'd seen it enough times when he looked at himself in the mirror.

Stephen closed his eyes and willed himself to calm down. "I promise, your brother will be in good hands. There's no need to make threats. We're just trying to help, alright?"

Loki looked at each of them warily, trying to assess their threat levels. He may be without his powers, but he was fairly certain he could overpower them if necessary. "Fine, fine. But if you harm him-"

"We won't," Stephen assured. "And if you want, you can come with us to the hospital."

Loki considered this a moment. Then he nodded slowly. "Alright. We will go with you to this 'hospital.'"

. . .

Eric watched the unconscious Thor with interest as two orderlies set the Asgardian onto a gurney. Jane and Darcy stand before an admissions nurse.

"Name?" the nurse asked.

Loki, who stood beside Stephen, took an instant disliking to the nurse. She was too... sweet. He didn't trust anyone who acted overly sweet.

"He said it was 'Thor,'" Jane said. She looked at Loki. "That _is_ his name, right?"

"Yes," Loki told her. "Thor Odinson."

The nurse painstakingly typed it into the computer, one key at a time. Jane watched as Thor was wheeled out of the room. Click... click... click...

Loki narrowed his eyes. Could this woman type any slower?!

"T-H-O-R... O-D-I-N-S-O-N. And your relationship to him?"

"I've never met him before," Jane replied.

"Until she hit him with that horseless carriage of hers," Loki said.

Jane gave him a look. "Grazed him, actually. Oh, and we tasered him, too."

"Must have been quite the spat," the nurse said.

"I told you, I don't know him," Jane told her. "I just want to make sure he's okay."

"I'm going to need a name and contact number," the nurse spoke.

"Jane Foster."

The nurse began slowly typing. Click... click...

"Alright, that's enough, let's go," Stephen said, tearing a business card from Eric's pocket and shoving it at the woman's face. "Here. Contact this number if there are any changes in his condition. _Any_ changes."

Loki smirked in amusement. _Hm. I like this one._

The group exited the hospital, and Jane hustled over to Loki's side. "Okay, you're brother's in the hospital. We helped you, now you help us. What was that thing?! In the sky? That beam of light that hit the ground and left behind that mark in the sand?" Another thought occurred to her. "What were the two of you even _doing_ out there?"

They had reached the SUV by now and were all buckled in, headed for Jane's lab.

Loki sighed. He didn't have anything to gain or to lose by lying. Once Midgard becomes more advanced in the next few millennia, they'll learn about Asgard, the Bifrost, all of it. Why not give them a bit of an early start?

"That 'beam' you saw was from the Bifrost," Loki spoke. "It's a device located on Asgard that allows for interdimensional travel. Heimdall is its gatekeeper. Thor and I... we've been banished."

"So... this 'Bifrost' is like an Einstein-Rosen bridge?" Jane asked.

"I have not the faintest what that is," Loki replied.

"It's supposed to be a theoretical door between two points in space, genius," Stephen told him. "Open the door, and you can walk through any time you like."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "That's not necessarily true. Heimdall can stop the Bifrost from being used by someone else if he so desires. That _is_ his job."

"We're not talking about- Jane, this guy's crazy," Eric said. "Probably high on something, I dunno. I say we drop him off at hotel."

"He and that 'Thor' guy were the only ones who got up close to that beam of light," Jane told him firmly. "I wanna know what's inside. _Period."_

"I fail to see how punctuation marks come into play here-"

"Can't you talk like a normal person?" Darcy interrupted.

Loki gave her look. "I am 'talking like a normal person.' What possibly could have made you think that I wasn't?"

"I dunno, maybe cuz you're using sort of fancy words?" Darcy asked.

Loki looked at Stephen. "Is this discussion actually happening right now?"

Stephen's mouth twitched in amusement, but he said nothing. This was too funny to interrupt at the moment.

. . .

 _The next day..._

The distant mountains glistened with snow in the early morning light. Eric came in with a cup of coffee and surveyed the vast desert. He turned back into the lab and saw Jane, busy at her workstation, mulling over a piece of equipment. A printer sputtered out photos of the Bifrost footage.

Darcy hung them up on small board attached to a wall. Stephen was... hanging around somewhere.

 _Probably up on the roof doing his mumbo jumbo meditation,_ Eric thought. That guy could be so mysterious sometimes. There were days when Stephen wouldn't let anyone in his room because he was trying out some experiment. Though it was never in those exact words.

 _It's just my luck. Now I've got two- possibly three if you count Thor- magic nuts here. What's next, an invasion of Jootun- er, Juton... whatever they're called._ Eric spotted Loki sitting on the floor in a corner, apparently sulking. _Norse-myth nutcases..._

Loki was even more of an enigma than Stephen. And that was saying a lot. Eric didn't know who this guy really was, and whether or not he was demented beyond help, but the scientist knew one thing- Loki did not come off as the trustworthy type.

"Darcy, when you're done, take the soil samples to Professor Meyers in geology," Jane said. "Remind him, he owes me."

"We might want to perform a spectral analysis," Eric spoke up.

Jane looked at him with a raised eyebrow."'We?'"

Eric chuckled in amusement."I flew all the way out here - might as well make myself useful." He noticed Loki perked up with interest.

"You _flew?"_ Loki asked.

"That's right," Eric replied warily.

"I thought you said you didn't believe in magic," Loki told him.

Eric's mouth twictched in amusement. "You know, there's this _thing_ called 'technology.' Might wanna do a little research on it, Mr. Odinson."

Loki suddenly glared at him. "Do not refer to me by that wretched name again!"

Eric raised an eyebrow. "I thought that was your name."

"It is not."

 _Now we're getting somewhere,_ Eric thought. "Then _what_ is your real name?"

"Loki Laufeyson," Loki replied, standing up. He stepped out of the shadows of the corner threateningly. "I am the monster in the stories parents tell their children at night. I am the creature that nightmares make. You want to know who I am?! Then think about what happened to your _pathetic_ race a thousand years ago! Think about what my people did to _yours,_ you pathetic excuse for a scientist!"

Eric took a step back defensively. Stephen came down the stairs at that moment. He looked at Loki, eyes narrowed. "Is there something going on that I should know about?"

Loki took in a breath and closed his eyes. He turned away from the others. "No. I was just... venting my anger. It won't happen again."

Stephen raised an eyebrow critically. "I know what it's like."

"What?" Loki turned his head towards him.

"To live under a shadow for most of your life," Stephen told him. "To be told one thing as a child, and then learn in the worst way possible that it's just a fiction."

There was a moment of silence. Stephen then looked at Jane. "Any progress?"

"Uh, right! Um, working on that," Jane replied. She turned to Eric. "Do you still have that friend at LIGO?"

"She was more than a friend," Eric replied.

"Could you call in a favor?"

"You don't think this was just a magnetic storm?"

Jane shook her head no."If I'm right, their observatory must have picked up gravitational waves during last night's event."

"Meaning?" Eric asked.

"Meaning that your 'observatory' would have picked up the Bifrost's energy discharge," Loki said.

"I think the lensing around the edges is characteristic of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge," Jane told Eric, ignoring Loki.

"A what?" Darcy asked blankly.

"I thought you were a science major," Eric said. "And weren't you paying attention last night on the way back here?"

"Political Science," Darcy told him. "And no, I forgot pretty much everything that everyone said last night. Staying up late doesn't do my brain justice in the mornings."

"Never in my life have I heard of _politics_ being considered _science_ until today," Stephen muttered.

Selvig shot Jane a confused look. _Political science?_

"She was the only applicant," Jane told him.

Eric nodded, still not quite understanding, but deciding not to push the issue. "An Einstein-Rosen Bridge - a 'theoretical' connection between two different points of space-time."

Darcy stared blankly.

"A wormhole, Darcy!" Stephen exclaimed in annoyance. "It's a wormhole!'

Eric still was skeptical.

"Eric, look..." Jane pointed to a photograph of some stars. "What do you see here?"

Eric looked at her as though she asked something silly. "Stars."

"Yes! But not our stars." Jane spread out a star chart as her colleagues and Loki came closer to observe.

"This is the star alignment for our quadrant, this time of year," Jane continued. "So unless Ursa Minor decided to take the day off... those are someone else's constellations."

Loki smirked, feeling victorious. "Yes, those are our constellations that are seen during the nights on Asgard."

The rest of them ignore him.

Darcy went and pulled another picture of the Bifrost footage from the printer and hung it on the board, when something in the image made her pause. "Hey, check it out."

Everyone else looked at the photo. Loki smirked again.

"Is that...?" Eric began.

"I think I left something at the hospital," Jane said.

"Yes," Loki spoke, smiling smugly. "I think it's best we retrieve it right away."

. . .

 **So, yes, major AU for Doctor Strange's origins. Anyway, see ya all next time! :)**


	4. Chapter Three: First Day on Midgard

**Chapter three! :) And in case I forgot to say this, major AU for Doctor Strange's origins.**

. . .

 **Chapter Three: First Day on Midgard**

"I'm sorry, only relatives can visit patients," the nurse at the desk said. It was a different one this time.

"I'm his brother," Loki told her.

"Okay," the nurse spoke. "Your I.D. please."

"My what?"

"I.D.," the nurse repeated, looking at him doubtfully through her glasses. "Identification. What school did you attend?"

Loki frowned. "Oh. I'm afraid I lost my identification. It was stolen on the way here."

"I thought you guys drove here," the nurse pointed out.

This was harder than Loki thought it would be. Luckily Jane stepped in. "We stopped so he could use the bathroom at a gas station and that's where he got mugged. After we pick up Thor we were going to head over to the police station to report it."

"Oh," the nurse said, accepting the excuse reluctantly. "Alright. Just tell me your name, sir."

"Loki," Loki replied. "Loki Odinson."

The nurse nodded. "Okay. He's in Room 102."

Jane and her companions headed down the corridor. Eric glared at Loki and said as soon as they were out of hearing range of the nurse, "You lied to that woman."

"Not necessarily," Loki replied calmly. "I was 'adopted' by Odin and Frigga, as _they_ would put it. Regardless of my blood, Thor is my _brother._ Unfortunately..."

They passed the destruction of the Emergency Room Thor wrecked the previous night. Loki halted, observing the scene. So did the others. Jane and her friends shared concerned a look.

"I suppose I should have expected as much from Thor," Loki commented. "He never did like being poked and prodded."

"Wait... Thor did this?" Darcy asked.

"Probably," Loki spoke. A panic began to rise in his chest. If Thor managed to escape, then he could be anywhere on Midgard right now. "How far are we from that Room? Room 102?"

"It's around the corner, I believe," Stephen answered. He gave the group a mysterious look, but said nothing. Loki may not have his magic anymore, but he could still tell when someone was hiding something.

The five of them entered Thor's room, only to find it very much vacant. They raced to their SUV, and Jane started it up, slamming her hand on the steering wheel in frustration. "Typical. I just lost my most important piece of evidence!"

"So I take it this happens to you often?" Loki tried hiding his concern with humour. Since everyone was basically ignoring him at the moment, it didn't really matter.

"So now what?" Darcy asked.

"We find him," Jane answered.

"Did you see what he did in there?" Eric asked. "I don't know if finding him is the best idea."

"I want to know what that thing was, and he may have the answers. We don't have a choice," Jane told them.

"Thor will tell you the same thing I have," Loki growled in annoyance. "That 'beam of light' was the _Bifrost!"_

"Look, do you want to find your brother or not?" Jane spat. Loki had no answer to this, much to her satisfaction.

"So we're just going to spend the rest of the day looking for him?" Eric asked.

"However long it takes," Jane replied. Basically a "yes."

Jane started backing the SUV up, only to slam into the Thor again with the back of the vehicle. Horrified, Jane and the others raced out to him. Jane knelt down to the poor man."I'm so sorry! I swear I'm not doing that on purpose!"

"Blue sky... one sun... this is Midgard, isn't it?" Thor asked.

Loki chuckled. "I think you might have hit your head one too many times, brother. Yes, we already established that the first time. At least I did."

"Whatever, let's get him out of the parking lot," Jane said.

. . .

 _Soon..._

In a back room, Thor, now shirtless and wearing jeans, searched around for a t-shirt. "Brother, remind me... _why_ was I in one of the Midgardians' healing rooms when I was perfectly fine in the first place?"

Loki, who sat in the living room flipping through one of Jane's books, replied, "I refuse to repeat myself."

Jane and Darcy, who were hanging out nearby, couldn't help but notice his sexy reflection in the mirror.

"You know, for a crazy homeless guy, he's pretty cute," Darcy commented. She said "cute" like "cut."

Thor came out of the room carrying a t-shirt.

"Hey sorry I tased you!" Darcy called.

Thor headed over to a table, inspecting curiously. He picked up a pair of earbuds, puzzled.

"Excuse me... excuse me!" Jane pulled the confused Asagardian away from the table.

Thor lifts up his shirt, looking at a sticker attached to it. It said, "Hello, My Name is Doctor Donald Blake." "What's this?" Thor asked.

"My ex," Jane replied, hurriedly tearing off the sticker. "Great with patients and bad with relationships... they're the only clothes I had that'll fit you. Sorry."

"They will suffice," Thor told her. He walked over to Loki, frowning. "Are you not going to change into something clean, brother?"

"I won't be caught dead wearing Midgardian clothes," Loki said, looking up at his brother.

Thor shrugged and turned his attention to the pictures of the Bifrost on the wall.

"You're welcome. Now tell me..." Jane pointed to a photo on a board. "What were you doing, in that?"

He glanced at it, dismissive.

"What does anyone do in the Bifrost?" Thor asked blankly. He turned to Loki. "Did you not tell them?"

Loki smirked. "You know how humans are. So predictably ignorant that they completely ignore one possibility, and chase after one even more absurd."

"Excuse me?" Eric glared at him.

Loki just leaned back in his chair, smiling smugly. Stephen entered the room at that moment, looking around. His eyes landed on Loki. "I wish to speak to you about something, if you don't mind."

Loki frowned, then shrugged. He closed the book he had been skimming through and followed Stephen into the hall. "What?"

Stephen crossed his arms. "Do you piss off people on purpose or what?"

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind." Stephen lowered his arms. "I want to show you something." He lead Loki to his quarters and opened the door.

Loki eyed him distrustfully.

"I'm not going to hurt you if that's what you're thinking."

"I wouldn't be the one to get hurt."

"Is that a threat?"

"No," Loki replied. "It's a fact. What did you want to show me?"

Stephen walked to a dresser and opened the drawer. He took out a small object. A necklace with a pendant in the shape of an eye.

Stephen showed it to him. "This is the Eye of Agamotto. It's an heirloom. From one of my ancestors. His name was Agamotto and he was the first in a long line of sorcerers. I used to be a neurosurgeon. After the accident that destroyed my hands, I took up the practice."

Loki thought this over for a moment. "Why are you telling me this?"

Stephen put a hand on Loki's chest, right where his heart was. "Because you and I are the same."


End file.
